Harry Potter and the Apocalypse
by squibkindabomb
Summary: Armageddon arrives during the first Quidditch game of Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts. The demons fall, and Harry must learn to survive in the chaos that ensues.
1. Prologue

Harry opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. _It's the first Quidditch match of the season_, he realized and grinned in excitement. Not even his detentions with Umbridge could ruin this for him. Too excited to fall back asleep, he threw back the covers and scrambled out of bed. He glanced at the clock; it was only 5:30. _Oh, well_, he thought. _I might as well get ready._

When he had dressed, Harry grabbed his broom and headed for the kitchen since it was still too early for breakfast in the Great Hall. When he reached the painting of a bowl of fruit, Harry tickled the pear and pulled the painting-now-door open. Even this early, the house elves were busy, and a few of them came up smiling as soon as they saw him.

"What would young master be wanting this morning?" one of them squeaked out.

"Some bacon and toast would be good," Harry said. No sooner had he spoken, than another house elf was handing him a tray with the desired food. "Thanks," he grinned.

The house elves beamed and squeaked, "Master is welcome!" before hurrying back to their duties. When Harry finished his meal, he headed out to the Quidditch Pitch and flew a few warm-up laps. As soon as he saw other members of the team heading for the locker rooms, he went to join them.

"I'm counting on you to catch the Snitch, Harry," Angelina, the captain this year, said when he had put his team robes on.

"I will," he said. Harry had no intention of letting Malfoy get the Snitch. He knew he would never live it down if he did.

Gradually, the roar from the stands grew louder as more and more students came from breakfast to watch the game. "Ready?" Angelina asked. They all nodded and then followed her onto the Pitch. A wall of sound greeted them as they mounted their brooms.

"On my whistle," Madam Hooch shouted over the noise. "One, two, three." The whistle blast sped them on their way upward.

"And it's Angelina with the Quaffle. Angelina passes to Alicia, intercepted by Montague." Harry heard Lee Jordan's voice through the magical megaphone commentating on the game. He tuned it out and flew higher, eyes searching for the elusive Snitch.

Thirty minutes into the game, the Snitch made its first appearance. Harry and Draco lay flat on their brooms, speeding toward it, as the crowd roared below them. They were neck and neck. Harry urged his broom to go faster, but Draco yanked his own broom to the side hard and knocked Harry off course. By then, the Snitch was gone.

An hour later, the Snitch still hadn't reappeared. Harry was searching for it when a strange sight caught his eye. It looked like a meteor, but it couldn't be. For one thing, it was broad daylight. For another, it was far too close. He stared at it, puzzled, the game forgotten and tried to judge where it would land. It seemed like it would be a few miles away. Then he saw another one—and a third one.

They seemed to be closer than the other one, and Harry only had time to realize that they were very fast—then they hit. One streaked towards Hogsmeade, and the other landed in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch. Harry could feel intense heat coming from it as it sped by, and dirt sprayed everywhere when it struck the ground. There was silence—and then someone screamed. A creature was climbing out of the glowing crater.

It was upright and stood about 7 feet tall. Its skin was a scaly blue, and it wore some type of armor. It leered threateningly and hefted a jagged axe. Then all hell broke loose. Literally. More meteors were falling, each containing a creature, though some were different from the first—some even looked like angels, and these attacked the other creatures without regard for collateral damage. Panicked students were screaming and shoving, trying to get out. The creatures almost seemed pleased at the chaos and their eyes gleamed diabolically as they mercilessly cut down children and left them to die in their own blood. Harry saw one Hufflepuff girl cowering silently as one of the creatures approached. She looked like a first year.

The Quidditch players sat frozen on their brooms in shock and fear as chaos reigned in both earth and sky around them. '_We have to do something,_' Harry thought desperately. He looked around frantically and caught sight of the locker rooms. '_My wand,_' he thought. '_It's in there._' He dove quickly and made it to the door safely. He kept a tight hold on his broom as he entered; he might need it for a quick getaway. The room was empty, so he dashed over to his school robes and rifled through the pockets until he found his wand. He turned around and started; Angelina stood in the doorway with vacant, staring eyes. She toppled slowly forward and Harry could see a bloody gash in her back. He felt bile rise in his throat and hurriedly stepped over the body and back onto the Quidditch Pitch.

Bodies lay sprawled everywhere, some facedown with wounds in their backs as if they had run, some with eyes staring blankly skyward, and others so badly mauled they were unrecognizable. Harry glanced around quickly; so far none of the creatures had taken an interest in him. He mounted his broom and kicked off the ground. He hovered a moment, searching for his friends, but a quick scan didn't reveal anything. Hoping against hope that they were alright, he turned his broom and sped away to find a safe haven away from the carnage.

**A/N: I might not continue this, but if anyone wants me to, I'll do my best. Suggestions will be considered (and appreciated). Constructive criticism is welcomed as well.**

**Inspiration for my stories is posted on my profile for anyone who is interested.**


	2. Survival Tactics

**A/N: Thank you for all your positive reviews and your favorites and follows. They got my lazy self to the story board.**

A tall hooded figure strode down the desolate street. Empty, gutted buildings loomed to either side, a testament to the lifelessness of the city. Other figures lurked in the shadows, but the hooded one paid them no heed. The figure was thin, but exuded an aura of power nonetheless. It approached one of the ruined buildings and entered confidently.

"We had an agreement," the tall figure hissed.

"Indeed we did," a guttural, snarling voice answered. "And I will keep my part. Will you keep yours?"

"Of course I will. Let's get this over with."

"Very well;" the voice may have been amused, but it was hard to tell.

A hulking form emerged from the shadows and slowly drew a dagger as it advanced on the motionless figure before it.

* * *

Harry woke with a start, cold sweat soaked through his clothing. After last year, he knew not to dismiss the dream he had just had out of hand. Voldemort was out there, and he had just made a pact with those demon creatures. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it, so he put it out of his mind.

Harry could hear birds starting to stir in the trees, so he levered himself up with a groan. He threw a glance across the clearing to his reluctant travelling companion. He was sitting with his back against a tree, keeping watch. Harry scowled as he pulled out their meager provisions. It had been nearly a month as far as either of them could tell, and Harry still had no idea what had happened to his friends. It had been just his luck to find Malfoy instead. Neither of them was too happy with the situation, but they had agreed to set aside their differences for the sake of survival.

"What do we have left?" Malfoy asked from the other side of the clearing.

"Not much," Harry replied. "We're going to have to do some more foraging today."

"You say that every day," he groused.

"Well it's true every day. Would you rather starve?"

Malfoy didn't reply to that, just started gathering their few possessions so they could get moving as soon as possible. He accepted the dried jerky Harry offered him and they set off through the trees. They needed to find a city or a town. Towns were generally safer than cities, but anywhere with food was welcome.

Harry briefly considered sharing his dream with Malfoy, but immediately discarded the idea. That was something he would tell his friends, and Malfoy was most certainly not his friend. They worked together to stay alive, and that was it.

They had worked out a system over the past weeks. When they travelled, they made sure to stay in each other's sight. They stayed quiet to avoid attracting attention, and since neither of them particularly wanted to talk to the other, it worked just fine. When they made camp for the night, they set up wards, ate a silent dinner, and kept watch in shifts.

The system may have worked but it was beginning to wear on Harry, and he was pretty sure Malfoy was the same way. Not that he cared how that git felt, but still. Harry missed his friends, and even though he tried not think about what might have happened to them, he couldn't put it out of his mind completely. He had seen the carnage at the Quidditch match, and continued to see it almost every night. His friends were out there somewhere, dead or alive he didn't know, and he worried constantly.

Harry and Malfoy trekked through the woods all that morning, neither one speaking. At noon, they found a break in the trees caused by a road. "Think it leads to a town?" asked Harry.

"It has to lead somewhere," Malfoy replied sarcastically.

"I know that. I meant, do you think it leas anywhere we can reach in an afternoon of walking," Harry said, slightly irritated at his companion's attitude.

"Only one way to find out and we better hope we don't choose the wrong direction."

They stood silently for a few moments, looking at the road. There were no indications of which direction led to what used to be civilization. "We might as well just head right," Harry said eventually. "We can't stand here all day." Malfoy nodded, and they turned to follow the road to the right. They stayed under the tree line, hoping to keep out of sight as much as possible. To this end, Harry couldn't help but envy Malfoy's green Quidditch robes which were less visible than his own red ones. Sure, the dirt and twigs and things helped mask the color, but the green was still better. By the time the sun was setting, they hadn't found anything. The road and the woods looked the same as ever.

Both Harry and Malfoy were tired and discouraged. They finished off the last of their provisions in silence, knowing they would be hungry in the morning. Malfoy threw himself down on the ground and stuffed his arms under his head as a makeshift pillow, immediately falling asleep as Harry took first watch.

The temperature dropped with the absence of the sun, and Harry drew his robes around himself, shivering. He missed the warmth of his dormitory room, and the feel of a real bed. There were a lot of things he missed. He knew, of course, that wishing was pointless, but he couldn't seem to stop. He didn't think he'd ever get used to this life.

Harry's watch passed without incident, and he tried to get comfortable on the ground as Malfoy took the next watch. Harry's last thought before he fell asleep was how much he really, really missed his bed.

**A/N: I know it took a while for me to update, but I promise that no matter how long it takes, this story will not be abandoned. That said, do any of you want to have chapters from Malfoy's perspective? I haven't decided on that yet, so your feedback would be appreciated. And please let me know if you see any spelling and/or grammar mistakes. And plot holes. I don't expect any, but they can't be allowed to continue if they crop up. Ciao!**


	3. Problems

Draco sat, cold and uncomfortable, against the trunk of a tree. He could just see the road through the trees. A breeze rustled the branches overhead, its sound mingling with the other night noises of the woods. Over the past month, both he and Potter had become adept at identifying the common sounds that surrounded them in the woods. Draco sighed. Hard ground and open sky made quite a contrast to the luxurious manor he was used to. His mind started to drift as he thought about all the comforts of his old life- the food, running water, his own bed- he suddenly stiffened as a realization hit him. The woods were silent, unnaturally so. He stood up slowly and carefully, looking around for whatever had caused the change. As he stood in the darkness, ears and eyes straining, he heard hoof beats. That could only mean one thing, Draco knew- demons were nearby. He walked quickly over to where Potter was asleep on the ground and shook him awake. Potter's eyes came open, and he rose to a crouch, silently questioning the reason for the awakening. Draco put a hand behind his ear, indicating that Potter should listen. He did so, and understanding dawned in his eyes as he heard the hoof beats.

They both crept as silently as they could into the cover of the woods and away from the road. Neither of them had any desire to watch those things go by. Close enough to see was too close by far. Once they had gone several feet, they turned to parallel the road they had been following the previous day. They both knew they would never get back to sleep, and moving was a more appealing choice than sitting and doing nothing until the sun rose. They maintained as straight a course as they could through the undergrowth that tried to arrest their progress. They walked for several hours with brief breaks until the sun was directly overhead. They sat down to rest with their backs each leaning against a tree trunk.

"The trees seem to be thinning," Potter said.

Draco nodded. "Maybe we'll see if we chose the right direction soon."

"We better have." He didn't need to remind Draco that they were out of food; after all, they had had no breakfast that morning.

They sat for a few minutes in silence then got up and continued walking. That was probably the only even moderately good thing about this whole business, Draco mused. He was getting more exercise than he'd ever even considered doing. His thoughts were cut short as they exited the trees and saw where they had been heading.

The ground sloped gently downward, and nestled in the shallow valley, lay a small town. Even from where they stood, he could tell it was empty. Everywhere was empty these days- empty of humans anyway. They approached in a crouch so as not to leave their outlines against the sky, and as they drew closer, Draco realized that it had been a muggle town. There was a time when he would have been satisfied by their fate or at least unaffected. Now it was a reminder of what had happened to all of them, wizard and muggle alike. The thought of wizards brought a pang as he wondered about his parents. Were they okay? Were they even still alive? He shook his head irritably to discard such thoughts; worrying wouldn't change anything.

They came to the edge of the town without incident. Knowing that the road would be watched if anything was in the town, they climbed over the fence that surrounded it. Looking around, Draco realized that they were standing in what used to be someone's back yard. The grass was starting to look overgrown, and the bushes were starting to get out of hand as well. As he realized where they were, Potter headed for the door without saying a word. Draco followed; a kitchen was as good a place as any to look for food, and it was somewhere to start. Potter grabbed the door handle and jiggled it to see if it was locked. He then pulled out his wand and muttered "Alohamora," so Draco assumed it had been. Potter pushed the door open slowly and peered inside. "Seems okay," he said.

"Alright, then let's get started. We don't exactly have time to waste," Draco said as he drew his own wand. They headed in with their wands at the ready, wincing at every creak of the floorboards. Everything was starting to get dusty, and Draco knew it would only get dustier. His lip wrinkled in a sneer as he realized that he would be digging through that dust looking for food. Of course, he was already pretty filthy from not being able to take a shower for a month, but the thought that it would only get worse as time went on disgusted him. How dare those demons make him, Draco Malfoy, rummage through filth to survive! It was beneath him! Then the sight of the kitchen drove all such thoughts from his mind. He ran to the pantry while Potter ran to the fridge. Twin grins of relief spread across their faces as they saw that no one else had raided the place yet. Draco pulled out everything that looked useful- canned goods, a bag of trail mix, unopened bags of cereal. He left the noodles; they couldn't risk a fire to cook them. He put it all on the kitchen table and turned to see what Potter had found. There were bottles of water, a block of cheese, some apples and carrots, and a bag of lunchmeat. These joined the other goods on the table, and the two of them started stuffing their findings in carrying sacks. Draco had put an expanding charm and a weight reducing charm that his father had taught him on the sacks they were using, so they were able to fit everything in and still have room for medical supplies. Draco didn't like relying on muggle medicine, but since neither of them new any healing spells, they had to make do with what they could find.

They made their way through the rest of the house looking for a bathroom since that was where Potter had said muggles kept their medicine cabinets. Draco found one and beckoned Potter over as he entered. He opened the cabinet and started pulling out bottles. Draco didn't know what all the different pills were, so Potter was the one who decided what they would take.

Once Potter had finished putting bottles in his sack, they both made their way back to the door. As they passed a window that had been left open by the previous occupants, they froze. A faint sound was coming in and getting louder by the second. The hoof beats were back.

* * *

Harry only froze for a second as he heard the hoof beats. Then he grabbed Malfoy and dove away from the window, deeper into the house. "How did we get here before them?" Harry whispered as he hunkered against the hallway wall and pulled Malfoy down next to him.

"Maybe they found someone else to play with on the way; does it really matter? They're here, and we're here, and that's not a good combination. Let's get out of here," Malfoy said in a strangled whisper. Harry glanced at him and saw that he was as white as a sheet.

"Alright," Harry said and led the way to the door. The hoof beats were even louder outside as they made their way back to the fence. Harry peered through a gap and stopped breathing when he saw the demons only a few yards away with some four-legged creature with them. Its shoulders were huge and round, and its back half looked tiny by comparison. It had a heavy collar around what little it had of a neck, and one of the demons held a chain that was attached to the collar. Despite all this, the only feature that really drew Harry's eyes was the set of giant teeth in the beast's mouth.

"What do you see?" Malfoy asked as he found a gap of his own. Harry hadn't taken his eyes off the demons, but he heard Malfoy's breath come in short, fast gasps and knew he must have seen them too. "What _is_ that thing?"

Neither had ever seen the four-legged thing before, but as he watched it Harry realized it reminded him of something. "Well, I can't say I know what it is, but you see what it's doing with its head?"

"Yeah."

"It looks a bit like a dog sniffing the air." When Malfoy didn't say anything, Harry asked, "Do you think it can smell us?" Right then, it swung its head in their direction, and they could hear it growling as it pulled at its leash. The demons reined in their horses and started conversing in some harsh, guttural language.

"Time to leave, I think," Malfoy rasped.

"No objections here." They moved away from the fence as quietly as they could, but they could still hear the dog creature grow louder as it sensed its prey getting away. They ran through the house and out the front door and found themselves in the deserted street. Empty houses stretched on a winding street to their right, and they could see a plaza with a fountain to their left. At the same time, they heard a crash behind them as the dog broke through the back door. Without pausing to think, they dashed right, hoping to find more shelter away from open spaces. They had passed one house when they heard a second crash and then scrabbling on the asphalt. Harry glanced over his shoulder to see that the dog had skidded as it landed on the street, but it was already launching itself after them, and by the sound of it, the demons weren't far behind. He faced forward again and pushed himself to run even faster. Malfoy darted into a narrow alley between two houses, and Harry followed him. What they found was a twisting maze of streets and alleys that seemed to lead nowhere but in circles. They followed it at random, with no idea of where they were going. The only thing they knew was that death followed close on their heels, and they dared not slow for a second; the only reason they hadn't been caught yet was the dog's tendency to slide as it rounded a corner.

After what felt like hours, but could only have been minutes, they broke out of the maze, and found themselves in what Harry assumed to be the center of the town. It was a large open area surrounded by storefronts. As they ran across the deserted asphalt, Harry noticed that there was a row of three multi-story buildings to their right. He grabbed Malfoy's arm and yanked him over to the gap between the first two buildings.

"What the hell are you doing, Potter! Are you trying to get us killed?!"

Harry shoved him toward the fire escape on the middle building. "Up," he ordered. "That thing might not be able to climb very well."

"Well maybe it can't, but I'm sure the demons can climb just fine," Malfoy grumbled even as he began to run up the stairs.

"They're slower than the dog," Harry said as he started to climb as well. "And maybe all we need is the advantage of height."

After that they saved their breath for the stairs. Snarls and growls accompanied them on their way up and encouraged them to run faster. Harry glanced down when he was halfway up and saw the dog starting to claw its way up the wall of the building. He started to panic, and flung out his wand arm, shouting "_Reducto_!" The spell hit the dog directly in the face, knocking it to the ground where it shook its head dazedly and tried to recover. Harry knew they couldn't relax yet though; he could hear the demons getting closer and knew that at any second they would come out of the alley. "Keep running," he gasped as he started upwards again.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Malfoy snarled back.

Harry decided it wasn't worth responding, especially since Malfoy had increased his pace. They reached the roof of the building and lay down flat to peer over the edge. The demons had gathered around the dog, and seemed to be discussing something while they shot glances at the fire escape. Harry and Malfoy wriggled back from the edge and cautiously stood up when they were far enough back not to be seen. "What do we do now?" Malfoy whispered.

"Let's see what's on the other side of the building." So they made their way across the concrete to the back of the building and peered over. They saw another maze of streets stretching out, and at the very end, the edge of the town.

"If only we could reach it!" Malfoy moaned. "But that thing will probably smell us as soon as we set foot on the ground."

Harry kept searching frantically for a way out of their situation that didn't involve them being ripped to pieces. After a couple seconds, his seeker's eye saw a round metal cover in the street right behind the building. "There," he pointed. "We can hide in the sewers."

"The sewers?! That's disgusting, Potter. Besides, it won't work. The dog will just lead the demons to the entrance, and then the demons will follow us down."

"Not if it doesn't smell us." He could see Malfoy about to object again, so he hurried on. "Do you know any spells that will change the way we smell?"

Malfoy closed his mouth and frowned in thought. "Well, there is something that _might_ work. I can't guarantee anything though."

"Those are probably the best odds we can get. Do it."

"Alright. Just remember that you asked for it," Malfoy said with a malicious glint in his eye as he raised his wand. "_Puteorus_," he said, and suddenly, Harry found himself enveloped in the worst stink he could ever have imagined. He gagged and pinched his nose shut. Then Malfoy grimaced as he turned his wand on himself and cast the spell again.

"Well," Harry said through his closed nostrils. "Let's get down there." Malfoy nodded with a similarly plugged nose. Then they heard heavy, booted footsteps on the fire escape stairs and knew that the demons had figured out where they had gone. Harry quickly located a service ladder, and used his wand to let it down quietly. They then scrambled down it as quickly as they could without making too much noise, and ran over to the sewer cover. Harry pulled it up, and Malfoy slipped in and down the ladder. Harry practically dove after him in his haste to get away from the demons and get the sewers closed again.

They walked a few feet away from the ladder, unable to smell the sewers past their own stench. Exhausted after the long chase, Malfoy fell against the wall and slid down it to a sitting position. Harry followed suit, and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall. After a few moments he asked, "I don't suppose you have a counter-spell?"

Malfoy shook his head. "No. We'll have to let it wear off."

"Wonderful. How long will that take?"

"A few hours I think. It varies slightly."

"That's just great. We should probably stay down here until it does. That dog might smell us again if we go out. Especially when we smell this strong."

Malfoy grunted noncommittally, but Harry decided to take it for agreement. They didn't say anything for a few more minutes, but this time Malfoy broke the silence. "You know," he said. "I've wanted to use that spell on you since I learned it. Never even occurred to me that I'd be doing it to save your life."

Harry snorted. "I bet you never thought you'd be saving my life by any means, let alone a stinking hex."

He heard a tired laugh from next to him. "You're right about that. Of course, I never exactly imagined the world being overrun by demons either."

"No one did," Harry said quietly. He stared across the channel to the opposite wall. Where had the demons come from? Surely someone must have at least known that they existed even if not that they were coming? Why had he never heard about these creatures? But the wall held no answers. Harry's natural curiosity and need to know what was going on suddenly hit him even stronger than ever. "Where do you think they came from?"

"How the hell should I know, Potter?" was Malfoy's irritated reply.

"Sorry. I just really wish I knew what was going on."

"Get used to not knowing," Malfoy said unsympathetically. "It's not like we have any way to find out." He paused for a second, then continued, "And if you even think about investigating, I'll hex you to next Friday and back. It's my neck on the line too."

Harry, who was definitely not considering investigating, replied in exasperation, "I know, I know. We keep doing what we've been doing. We keep our heads low and stay alive."

"Preaching to the choir, Potter."

They sat silently for hours. Harry, worn out as he was from the harrowing flight through the city, dozed off several times, and he was sure Malfoy did as well. Eventually, he realized how hungry he was. "Want to eat?" he asked Malfoy.

"You can if you want. I for one would rather get out of this stench before I eat anything." Malfoy stood up and brushed his robes off, an action that did absolutely nothing. Harry realized that he had a point, so he stood up as well. He started to climb the ladder, but Malfoy stopped him. "Maybe we should try to get across town below ground."

"Not a bad idea. Any idea which direction we should head?"

Malfoy paused, then pulled his wand out and said, "Point me." The wand pivoted, then pointed to the right of the ladder. "That way. Something you would know too if you had thought about it," he added with a scathing glance. "I mean, it's not like you don't know that spell." Harry glared at him but decided it wasn't worth replying. They set off down the tunnel in their customary silence, with Malfoy casting the Point Me spell whenever they came to an intersection. In this manner, they reached the edge of town without any further demon interaction and fled to the relative shelter of the woods.

**A/N: Merry Christmas! This chapter is my gift to all of you. =)**

**Thank you to Mumia0813 for reviewing and reminding me to get this chapter out!**

**I'm trying to write longer chapters, so please bear with me; I'm not sure I'll manage to make them this long all the time. **

**There was supposed to be a line break last chapter at the end of Harry's scar-induced dream, so I'm hoping what I did in this chapter works.**

**Also, I revised some things in the previous two chapters. Nothing major, but feel free to check it out.**


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